The choice for the optimal therapy in advanced biliary tract cancers: Chemotherapy, targeted therapies or immunotherapy

Abstract

Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) represent a heterogeneous group that includes intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas (CCAs), perihilar-CCAs or Klatskin tumors, extrahepatic-CCAs, and gallbladder adenocarcinoma. These entities have distinct demographics, risk factors, clinical presentation, and molecular characteristics. In advanced BTCs, the recommendations are mainly supporting a doublet chemotherapy regimen using cisplatin/gemcitabine (CisGem) with a 5-year overall survival rate close to 5% and median overall survival (mOS) of less than a year. The lack of overall efficacy stresses the need for personalized therapies. Recently, whole-genome and transcriptome sequencing highlighted the diversity of BTCs' subtypes. Distinct genetic alterations were retrieved according to the localization, with a high rate of potentially actionable alterations. Targeted therapies and immunotherapy have since then been tested for BTCs, trying to propose a more personalized treatment. This review describes the different therapeutic options, validated and in development, for patients with advanced BTCs.

Keywords: Biliary tract cancers; Cholangiocarcinoma; Genome sequencing; Immunotherapy; Targeted therapy.